Poor batting cost us, says Dravid

Rahul Dravid was left to reflect on a poor second innings batting performance after India's hopes of a series win in South Africa were dashed in Cape Town.

The Proteas won by five wickets in the final session to take the series 2-1.

"We should have set them 60 or 70 runs more than we did but didn't play well enough yesterday and they batted well in the first hour today," said Dravid.

"We are disappointed. After dominating for three days we could have ended up with a better result than we did."

The normally prolific Dravid's 47 in India's second innings was his highest score of a series in which he mustered only 125 runs at an average of 20.8.

Equally disappointing was the form of Virender Sehwag, who averaged only 14, and and only Wasim Jaffer scored a century for India in the three matches.

Dravid was happier with his bowlers and paid tribute the new ball pair of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Zaheer Khan, who shared 31 wickets in the series.

Zaheer claimed all three wickets to fall on the final day, but Sreesanth was unable to find similar penetration and add to his series tally of 18.

"Sreesanth has been a great success for us - both he and Zaheer bowled really well right thought the series and matched the South African pacers, which was a great effort.

"Tours like this can really help young quick bowlers and I hope he [Sreesanth] goes from strength to strength," Dravid commented.

India will now turn their attention to one-day cricket with home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, while South Africa play host to Pakistan.

"We can take some positives from this Test series and move ahead. We've got eight one-day games before the World Cup and have got to get certain parts of our one-day game right. We'll be focusing on that," Dravid added.

South Africa edge towards victory

Third Test, Cape Town, day five: South Africa 373 & 111-2 v India 414 & 169
Scorecard

South Africa moved comfortably to 111-2 before rain stopped play with just 100 runs left to seal the deciding Test against India in Cape Town.

Captain Graeme Smith and nightwatchman Shaun Pollock resumed on 55-2 and spent an untroubled morning guiding their side towards a 2-1 series win.

Smith was unbeaten on 49 with paceman Pollock contributing a polished 25 in support of his skipper.

The leaden Cape Town skies forced the floodlights on before the rain fell.

SA set for tense final day chase

Third Test, Cape Town, day four (close): South Africa 373 & 55-2 v India 414 & 169
Scorecard

South Africa require a further 156 to secure the deciding Test at Newlands after closing day four on 55-2.

Beginning their second innings with a lead of 41, India soon slipped to 6-2, but the experienced Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly shared 84 in 29 overs.

Three wickets went for seven, Sachin Tendulkar out in the last over before tea, Dinesh Karthik added 38, but the last three wickets fell within an over.

The home side started their chase well but lost Hashim Amla in the final over.

AB de Villiers clipped the first ball of the final innings from Zaheer Khan for four, but having helped Graeme Smith compile 36 he fished at the left-armer, who found seam movement in addition to his natural angle and caught the edge.

Anil Kumble, on a hat-trick after taking the final two wickets in the first innings, was introduced in the ninth over and was despatched for two boundaries in his first four balls.

However, he turned one sharply to pin Amla which prompted the close, and the home side will be all too well aware of his threat on the final day.

Following South Africa's dramatic initial revival in the early stages of day four, there was controversy after the fall of the second wicket.

Star batsman Tendulkar was due to come in at his customary number four position, but because he was off the field for 18 minutes on day three, officials insisted he spent the same amount of time away from the crease.

This led to a lengthy delay and South Africa captain Graeme Smith began consulting the umpires over the laws regarding batsmen being timed out, but there was no actual appeal for dismissal.
A batsman is given three minutes to reach the crease and take guard, and there have been only four instances in first-class cricket of a batsmen being given out for failing to arrive in time - none in Test matches.

The first two India wickets fell in 12 minutes on the fourth morning, six minutes before Tendulkar was permitted to begin his innings.

But it transpired the fourth official only informed the India dressing room the ball before the second wicket fell, and because of the unusual circumstances a hastily padded up new number four Ganguly was not timed out.

He was required because Virender Sehwag, restored to the opening slot, drove loosely wide of off-stump with no foot movement and edged behind in the second over.

In the next over, first innings centurion Wasim Jaffer tried to evade a typically inward slanting, lifting delivery from Makhaya Ntini which thudded into the gloves and looped to second slip, leaving India only 47 ahead.

Dravid and Ganguly gradually steadied the ship, and were content to continue watchfully, with only occasional glimpses of strokeplay on an increasingly wearing pitch.

Debutant left-arm spinner Paul Harris helped South Africa keep the runs down, and caused some problems bowling into the rough outside the leg-stump from over the wicket.

Ganguly reached 46 but fell to South Africa's plan to tempt him wide of off-stump and gave a catch to gully.

Tendulkar might have gone for two when he set off for an ill-advised single having been rapped on the gloves, was sent back by Dravid and saw Hashim Amla's throw from cover narrowly miss the target.

Harris, who took 4-129 in the first innings, took a neat low return catch to dismiss Dravid for 47, while VVS Laxman hesitated before deciding to risk a second to Shaun Pollock at deep square-leg and was run out by a whisker.

Tendulkar was lbw to one from Pollock that replays showed reversed in too much and would have slid down the leg-side.

Karthik, who opened in the first innings and compiled 153 with Jaffer, played confidently again at number seven, even risking a reverse sweep in his 38 from 48 balls, to infuriate the South Africans.

But Zaheer Khan turned for a second run without looking and was run out by a superb flat throw from AB de Villiers and Steyn added the final two wickets in two balls to dismiss the tourists for 169 and let the run chase begin.